Skimp on Shrimp?
Shrimp has a reputation as something of a paradox in the seafood world: It’s very low in calories and fat, but the amount of cholesterol shrimp contains give the impression that it’s best to skimp on shrimp; it’s a great appetizer to eat at a party, yet the cocktail sauce that often accompanies it makes it a nutritional party pooper.
So, which is it: Should we skimp on shrimp or should we allow ourselves to indulge in America’s second most favorite seafood selection (next to tuna)?
While I’m not about to advise you eat an entire platter of shrimp, my advice tends to side with the latter rather than the former, simply because the positives outweigh the negatives. Far outweigh the negatives!
Joint Health
Ever notice that shrimp is listed among the ingredients on your bottle of glucosamine and chondroitin? That’s not because the supplements were packaged at a manufacturing plant that also packages and sells shrimp. It’s because glucosamine actually comes from shrimp, which is a natural ingredient that’s proven to contribute to overall joint health and cartilage restoration. As such, eating shrimp is one of a handful of foods that improves joint health.
Cholesterol
This is what shrimp shunners use in their arguments against the corpulent crustacean – that they contribute to cholesterol!
Here’s what I say in response: While true, studies show that they do contribute to increasing LDL levels, they also contribute to HDL levels – the good kind – and more to the HDL levels than the LDL levels. Peer-reviewed scientific studies show this. One of them compared a diet of eating two eggs a day versus about four ounces of shrimp (14 to 15 pieces). Both diets raised HDL and LDL levels, but it was the shrimp diet that increased HDL levels more than the LDL levels (the egg diet increased LDL levels by 10 percent and HDL levels by 7 percent; the shrimp diet increased LDL levels by 7 percent and the HDL levels by 12 percent). What’s more the shrimp diet decreased triglyceride levels (fat found in the blood).
Vitamin D
Besides the sun and dairy, there aren’t a whole lot of food and environment options that offer a significant amount of vitamin D, a vitamin that’s received a lot of attention lately because so many people are deficient in it. Four ounces of shrimp yields about 162 international units of the “D” fensive vitamin that’s crucial for avoiding cardiovascular disease and weight gain. That amount of vitamin D is a little less than half of what’s recommended every day for an otherwise healthy individual.
I could go on and on about all the great things that make shrimp a great sea-faring selection – like how they’re low in calories, packed with protein, protect against heart disease, Parkinson’s disease, high in omega-3s, etc. – but I think it’s plain to see that despite its lightness in weight, shrimp is a heavyweight in nutrition.
So, while this is not an invitation to see how many shrimp you can fit in your mouth at the next office party, it is an invitation to make it a weekly or bi-weekly seafood selection, as the nutritional prowess of this sea-faring prowler shouldn’t be skimped on.
Sources
whfoods.com
naturalhealthontheweb.com
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